ABS offers facility for in depth analysis of the Australian labour market (Media Release)

MEDIA RELEASE

10 December 2012

Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

204/2012

ABS offers facility for in depth analysis of the Australian labour market

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today released a new data source available to undertake in depth analysis the Australian labour market. The Longitudinal Labour Force Survey (LLFS) file provides details on the labour market participation and the transitions into and out of employment of Australians over a three year period, providing insights into how the labour market has changed over time.

This is the first time the ABS has released a data source that combines the results of 56 separate household surveys, arranged into a structure that allows for labour related data on people, families and households to be analysed over multiple time points. Over the 3 year period, information has been collected from over 150,000 households, resulting in over 1.8 million records.

The LLFS complements the large range of ABS labour, social and macro-economic outputs, and can be used to increase understanding of:

• the activities or factors that are relevant to labour market participation and transitions; and
• the socio-economic, demographic or household/family characteristics that are associated with these activities or factors.

This data source will be useful for governments, researchers and analysts interesting in understanding the labour market over multiple time points.

The LLFS is made available as a Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF) accessed through a unique virtual environment, the Remote Access Data Laboratory (RADL). Further information about the CURF and purchasing a licence to access the CURF can be found at the CURF Microdata Entry Page on the ABS website.